‘Ant-Man and the Wasp’ Hailed by Critics as Creative, Confident Marvel Sequel

Thanos won the “Infinity War.” Half of the universe is dead. Sounds like a great time for the Marvel Cinematic Universe to have a small-scale comedy, right?

Taking place just prior to the shocking events of the latest “Avengers” film, “Ant-Man and the Wasp” is the sequel to 2015’s mildly received “Ant-Man,” and critics say that this follow-up shows a cast and director with more confidence and creativity. With 61 early reviews logged, Rotten Tomatoes currently gives the film a score of 90 percent.

Reviews have praised Peyton Reed for showing his increased experience in blockbuster filmmaking and returning actors Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly and Michael Douglas for settling into their roles as the two titular shrinking superheroes and their mentor, former Ant-Man Hank Pym.

Critics describe the film as a nice change of pace after the universal-scale catastrophes of “Infinity War,” and that the mid-credits scene holds a major clue to how Ant-Man will play a role in next year’s “Avengers” film. “For audiences who like Marvel movies at their tongue-in-cheekiest, this sequel provides some breezy fun,” TheWrap’s own Alonso Duralde wrote.

“Ant-Man and the Wasp” hits theaters July 6. Check out some of what other critics are saying in the pull quotes below.

“‘Ant-Man and the Wasp’ works so well because it is very self-aware. It knows the type of film it is and the type of film it isn’t. It is undoubtedly a laugh-out-loud blockbuster superhero movie that will entertain audiences and provide a much-needed break to all the drama happening elsewhere in the Marvel Universe after ‘Avengers: Infinity War.’ Paul Rudd breathes life into Scott Lang and gives us a superhero that feels authentic and more human, therefore more relatable.”

“The lightweight tone makes ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp’ a film that’s always in danger of floating away, but it holds you just enough with its goofy charm and inoffensive tone. It’s a movie that just wants to make you smile and give you a sensible chuckle, and you could do far worse when it comes to the goals of a blockbuster picture.”

“The thrill of the film is watching Ant-Man and the Wasp team up and raise hell together. Rudd is a winning combination of sass and sincerity. And it’s a kick to watch Lilly break out and let her star shine. She hasn’t had a part this juicy since she played Kate Austen on Lost; her smarts and screen presence lift the movie over its rough spots.”

“Happily, we get to spend a lot more time in [the Quantum Realm], which — not unlike previous capers including ‘Doctor Strange’ and the ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ movies — pushes the typically polished, professional-looking Marvel aesthetic in a more adventurous visual direction. To behold this world, invisible to the naked human eye but dazzlingly amplified on the screen, is marvelously transporting: Who hasn’t dreamed of swimming in rainbow sherbet?”

“‘Ant-Man and the Wasp’ is an airy, nimble piece of filmmaking: Reed’s confidence to unapologetically embrace weirdness — like imagery of ants playing drums or responding to telepathic commands — gives the franchise its distinctly playful spirit. His stars, Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly, reprise their roles and further energize Marvel’s most lovable romance. And the action sequences, with their constant, dynamic manipulation of size and scope, are as creative as they are thrilling.”

“The script has five credited screenwriters, including Rudd. You get the feeling one of them wrote the plot on the back of the napkin, and the other four got hired to make fun of the first guy. Not a bad instinct. Part of what made ‘Thor: Ragnarok’ so great was the sense that you were watching a great defacement of the whole ‘Thor’ idea. But Ragnarok had a whimsical sense of humor sprinkled atop a decadent retro-junk style. Ant-Man and the Wasp stumbles by trying to take itself even half-seriously. Poor Hannah-John Kamen looks stranded as the notional super-baddie, the space-phasing Ghost. Sad flashbacks, bad attitude, lame powers: She’s the most boring villain since that time Thor punched some elves.”

All 20 Marvel Cinematic Universe Movies Ranked, From Worst to Best (Photos)

Marvel

20. “The Incredible Hulk” (2008)

Released just five years after Ang Lee’s “Hulk,” this second attempt to make a leading man out of the big green Gamma-radiated creature proved to be similarly disappointing. If we’ve learned anything from the Avengers movies, it’s that Bruce Banner works best when he’s a supporting character (and when he’s played by Mark Ruffalo).

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19. “Ant-Man” (2015)

While this movie deserves credit for not putting the fate of mankind on the line -- the stakes are more child’s-toy-train-sized -- the film’s stabs at humor seem overplayed, and little of Paul Rudd’s natural charm comes to the forefront of what should be a breezy caper. We can only wonder what Edgar Wright’s original version might have been like.

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18. “Thor” (2011)

Director Kenneth Branagh nails the thee-and-thou of the Asgard segments, but the small town where the climax plays out is one of the screen’s cheesiest fake cities since the terrible 1980s “Supergirl” movie. On the upside, actor Chris Hemsworth demonstrates a twinkly wit in this thunder god adventure, matched with impressive brawn.

Marvel

17. “Iron Man 2" (2010)

The best MCU movies do a good job of distracting you from all the setting-up of future franchise entries; this one offers so much empire-building that it might as well have a “Pardon Our Dust” sign on it. Still, the first appearance of Scarlett Johansson as the Black Widow, dispatching a hallway’s worth of opponents, made an unforgettable impression.

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16. "Captain America: The First Avenger" (2011)

Much as he did in “The Rocketeer,” director Joe Johnston excels at portraying the gloss of the 1940s, although the characters aren’t nearly as vivid as the USO bunting. But fear not, true believers -- Cap’s onscreen adventures got way better in his subsequent solo and team movies.

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15. "Thor: The Dark World" (2013)

Firmly average, yes, but an improvement on its predecessor and a straight-up good time, skillfully balancing superheroics, second bananas, entertaining villains and the occasional killer one-liner. By no means a cornerstone of the MCU, but this one, mostly, works.

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14. “Iron Man 3” (2013)

Director and co-writer Shane Black doesn’t always have the tightest grasp on the story -- what does the nefarious Extremis do again, and why? -- but he shows off his skill at witty banter (which Robert Downey, Jr. can perform within an inch of its life) and breathtaking action (a mid-air rescue of a dozen passengers who have just tumbled out of Air Force One).

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13. “The Avengers: Age of Ultron" (2015)

It’s always fun when the band gets back together, but it’s also difficult to recapture the magic of that first time. This sequel offers plenty of excitement and Joss Whedon-scripted badinage, but it’s also a little overstuffed with supporting characters and set-ups for the next round of MCU movies. Lovers and haters of superhero movies can both find bolsters for their arguments here.

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12. "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" (2017)

The band is back together, and they're as bristly hilarious as in their first outing, but overall this sequel feels like it's just vamping (entertainingly) until the next major plot shift in the MCU. Kurt Russell pops up as Ego the Living Planet, who claims to be the long-lost father of Peter Quill/Star-Lord (Chris Pratt), and while the movie is more concerned with character and emotion than plot, not all of the moving moments ring true.

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11. Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)

This sequel has a better sense of its own silliness than its predecessor, as Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) and The Wasp (Evangeline Lilly) run from the feds, battle the dimension-phasing Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen) and thwart the plans of a mobster (Walton Goggins), all while planning a rescue of The Wasp's mom (Michelle Pfeiffer) from another dimension. Feels more Disney -- in the Kurt-Russell-as-Dexter-Riley sense -- than Marvel, but still fun.

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10. "Avengers: Infinity War" (2018)

It's a little tough to judge this one on its own merits since it's so clearly half a movie; we won't really know how this film comes to fruition until we get the sequel. But in the meantime, it does a fairly impressive job of juggling some 25 major MCU characters and keeping its sense of humor even in the face of mass destruction (and intense scenes involving torture and genocide).

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9. "Thor: Ragnarok" (2017)

Director Taika Waititi ("Hunt for the Wilderpeople") strikes a delicate balance between breathless action and fate-of-the-universe stakes on one hand and tongue-in-cheek silliness and snappy banter on the other. Luckily, he's got Chris Hemsworth, who excels at both, surrounded by the witty likes of Tom Hiddleston, Mark Ruffalo and franchise newbies Tessa Thompson, Jeff Goldblum and a gloriously over-the-top Cate Blanchett.

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8. "Captain America: Civil War" (2016)

The plotting and pacing aren't as tight as in "Winter Soldier," but if you're looking for dark human conflict and rousing superhero-on-superhero action, this movie does a whole lot right that "Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice" did wrong.

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7. "Iron Man" (2008)

It all starts here -- a superhero origin story for literalists who can’t get behind exploding planets or radioactive spiders. Jon Favreau, then most famous for directing "Elf" and writing and co-starring in "Swingers," seemed an odd choice for the material, but he knows how to give us both the characters (played by Downey and Gwyneth Paltrow with panache) and the ka-blam.

Marvel

6. "Black Panther" (2018)

While Chadwick Boseman's titular African king-superhero takes something of a back seat to a troika of fascinating female characters -- played by Lupita Nyong'o, Danai Gurira and Letitia Wright -- the movie nonetheless overflows with excitement and rich backstory. (And Michael B. Jordan's Killmonger ranks among the franchise's greatest villains.)

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5. "Spider-Man: Homecoming" (2017)

Less guilt-driven and haunted than previous iterations of the character (on the page or screen), Tom Holland's Spider-Man has enough on his plate dealing with his superhero growing pains. Hungry to join The Avengers but still grappling with all he has to learn -- he's only 15, after all -- our hero faces off against blue-collar bad guy The Vulture (Michael Keaton, Birdman at last) in an adventure that's breezy and funny while also featuring genuine stakes, terrific characterizations and wonderfully detailed casting. (You gotta love a teen movie that works in Zendaya, Tony Revolori, Abraham Attah and J.J. Totah, plus scene-stealing newcomer Jacob Batalon.)

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4. "Doctor Strange" (2016)

It would be all too easy to make the spell-casting Master of the Mystic Arts look ridiculous on the big screen, but somehow director Scott Derrickson and his crew gave us a version of surgeon-turned-magician Dr. Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), who seems at home in the real world, rubbing shoulders with the Avengers, and traversing trippy, eye-popping dimensions where none other could go.

3. “Guardians of the Galaxy" (2014)

Breezy, flippant and soaking in the super hits of the ’70s, this comedy adventure is something of an outlier -- both tonally and geographically -- in the Marvel Universe. Still, whether or not Rocket Raccoon and Black Widow ever cross paths, this star-spanning saga was a reminder that there’s more than one way to tell a superhero story.

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2. “Captain America: The Winter Soldier" (2014)

Aggressive patriotism meets anti-government paranoia in this exciting tale that pits the Captain against labyrinthine conspiracies. It also turns out that Steve Rogers is way more interesting displaced in time in the 2000s than firmly at home in the 1940s. And you will believe The Falcon can fly.

Disney/Marvel

1. “The Avengers" (2012)

Still the gold standard of the MCU, this movie reveals that Joss Whedon gets comic books down to their DNA, in the same way that Steven Spielberg and George Lucas were fluent in the language of serials in the “Indiana Jones” movies. Putting all these heroes in one room (or helicarrier, anyway) yielded terrific results, even if the film’s success led to the all-superheroes-all-the-time ethos of contemporary Hollywood.

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TheWrap critic Alonso Duralde orders the MCU, including “Ant-Man and the Wasp”